Estonia recommends strengthening EU tobacco and nicotine products regulations

Estonia considers it necessary to have a unified approach across the European Union, because in this way, not only Estonia, but the whole Europe will be healthier.

“This is already a question of survival—Estonians, especially the young people, hold the “black” first place in the world in e-cigarette consumption, our consumption is also growing very rapidly and we have an unprecedented number of different products registered for sale. We are very concerned about the health of the Estonians and the damage to the environment. If we act domestically, we will not be completely successful because goods move freely within the European Union. Unfortunately, we can also see the results of the tobacco lobby in Estonia, and there is a lot of misleading information and ignorance. It was especially positive today to hear young people’s representatives say that they expect more decisiveness from politicians in restricting nicotine,” Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee Liisa Pakosta explained.

Estonia recommends the European Commission to establish lists of flavourings allowed throughout Europe and set upper limits for nicotine content, ban internet sales and introduce standard packaging to reduce attractiveness. It is also recommended to extend smoke-free areas and ban the marketing of single-use e-cigarettes.

“We support EU-level regulations, but we also want to see much more prevention and information activities at national level. This is necessary, so that the life and health of people, including our close ones, would be protected. In Isamaa’s opinion, it is necessary to channel more money into the promotion of healthy lifestyles, in order to introduce them in society more widely, but especially among the young people,” member of the European Union Affairs Committee Riina Solman said.

According to the survey of health behaviour among the adult population, in 2020, regular e-cigarette users formed 3.8% of the adult population in Estonia, but in 2022, this percentage had already risen to 10.4%.

A worrying trend is the increase among young women, where the number of daily cigarette users had risen to 11.5% in just a few years. The number of nicotine pouch users has also increased among the younger age group, where a total of 20% of men aged 16–24 were regular users in 2022.

Estonia’s positions regarding the updating of the legal acts of the European Union on tobacco and nicotine products were discussed at the public sitting of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu. Representatives of the Ministry of Social Affairs, WHO Country Office in Estonia, National Institute for Health Development, Tartu University Hospital, Estonian Medical Association, Estonian Junior Doctors Association, Estonian Respiratory Society, Health Promotion Union of Estonia, Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, University of Tartu, Estonian Association of Youth Workers, Estonian School Students Councils Union, OÜ Eesti Elektroonikaromu, Youth Environmental Council and NPO Eesti Elektri- ja Elektroonikaseadmete Ringlus participated in the public sitting. Video recording of the public debate can be viewed on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

For more information, please contact: Liisa Pakosta, +372 502 6191

Maiki Vaikla
+372 631 6456, +372 5666 9508
maiki.vaikla@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

Link uudisele: Estonia recommends strengthening EU tobacco and nicotine products regulations

Source: Parliament of Estonia